THE BIBLE IN 10 MINUTES, 5 DAYS A WEEK
If you missed last week’s plan, check out Week 3 here.
WEEK FOUR
Hello and welcome to week four of the Off the Shelf bible reading plan. We hope week three was an opportunity to reflect on God’s presence, promises, power, liberation, and sacrifice through the lens of the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the covenant at Mt. Sinai. This week, let’s take a look at the books of Joshua, 1 Samuel, and 2 Samuel. These books begin with God giving his people the promised land and end with a closer look at the people who God chose to lead his people.
DAY 1 | We ended last week’s reading by looking at Israel’s betrayal through the worship of the Golden Calf. Unfortunately, this was the first of many times Israel would rebel against God. In Numbers Chapters 13 and 14, we read that God instructed Moses to send twelve men to explore the promised land. Of the twelve, only two, Joshua and Caleb, believed that God would successfully deliver them to the promised land. The other ten men convinced the Israelites that God was incapable of holding to his promise. As a result, God condemned them to wander through the desert for 40 years, one year for each day the men explored the promised land. This amount of time also meant that all adults who did not believe God would die before entering the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb were allowed to live. As we enter the book of Joshua today, the 40 years have ended, Moses has died, and Joshua has been installed as the nation’s leader. The Israelite people are finally ready to cross the Jordan River into the promised land. Today read Joshua Chapters 1 and 2.
DAY 2 | In Chapters 1 and 2, God used Rahab to help protect the spies that Joshua sent. In Chapters 3 and 4, we will read about God delivering his people to the promised land in a remarkably similar fashion to the way he delivered them from Egypt 40 years earlier. Today read Chapters Joshua 3-4.
DAY 3 | The remainder of the book of Joshua chronicles Israel’s conquest of the promised land. During the remaining chapters, they conquer the people living in the land, divide the land amongst the tribes, and renew their covenant with God. In the book that follows, called “Judges,” God sets up leaders called Judges over his people. In our culture, a judge is someone who functions in the legal system, but these Judges were the spiritual and moral leaders of the people who were to guide them toward godly living. One of the final Judges was a man named Samuel. Today we read about the beginning of Samuel’s life and God calling him as a leader and prophet. Read 1 Samuel Chapters 1-3.
DAY 4 | While Samuel was faithful to God, his children were not. Today we read about the peoples’ response to Samuel’s children. What follows is a significant moment in Israel’s history. Today, read 1 Samuel Chapters 8-10.
DAY 5| God never intended for his people to have a King. He wanted to be their King, but as we saw in Chapter 8, God gave them what they wanted. Often the things we want are not as good for us as we think they will be. The same was true for Israel and their Kings. Saul had some good moments as Israel’s King, but he was not faithful to God, and eventually, God rejected him as King. Today we are going to read about David, the second King God appointed. Today, read 2 Samuel Chapters 5 & 6.
Thank you for joining us this week. Join the conversation at Off the Shelf Facebook Group!
THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS
Also, If you are looking for a challenge, it’s not too late to jump into the Bible in 90 days plan. This plan is designed to walk you through the Bible over the course of just three months. That works out to 12 pages of reading each day—a commitment, but certainly manageable, and one that’s well worth making.
Start plan here: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/13-bible-in-90-days
View Full Calendar
